Shut out of the market: but Trapet pricing is about right.

Just received an offer from Europe for the 2019 Chambertin. Equivalent of $700 and change plus shipping. Reluctantly I said no, and decided that I won’t be buying more. Even the good but lesser Grand Crus have gone way up, doubling in the last three or four years.
And the gap between these and the Chambertin is enormous.
However this is not another “Burgundy prices are out of control” rant. In the context of quality and rarity, this is about the right price, not much more than a first growth Bordeaux. I bought Trapet because I wasn’t going to pay Rousseau prices, and Trapet might have been a half tier down but at a 75% discount. Now, a 50% discount, not outlandish for the quality. But sadly, once it went over $500 a bottle, I realized that I had enough Trapet, and could not be tempted.

2019 burgundy prices were discouraging. Many jumped about 40% higher.

Burg prices are becoming a real money Trapet.

Tangential question:
When Rossignol-Trapet broke up, how was its Chambertin divided? The N. Rossignol Chambertin is A LOT less expensive than Trapet’s. Even I own a bottle (of the 2014).

I’m not clear how Mark’s OP will not be considered a rant on pricing. If everyone pegs their prices to the prices of the 0.01% trophy bottles (e.g. Rousseau) that command extraordinary premiums, then great wine (or at least great Burgundy) will be inaccessible to most wine lovers. Mark is making a purchasing choice; most folks (even here) don’t have the option.
Regards,
Peter

It’s not a rant because he thinks the price is fair. Whether you can afford said wine is another story entirely, and generally not relevant.

We’ve had several visits and quite a few bottles of Trapet over the years. Sadly it looks like we are priced out.

So, who is going to be the next Trapet? Who should we be loading up on before the price doubles or triples. Let’s be ahead of the curve for once.

LOL

I’m really annoyed that Zachy’s f-ed up my order for a mag of 16 trapet (and 17 af Richebourg) and shipped it in high temps; they refunded me but I’d rather have had undamaged wine at the price i paid.

Julian,
Sorry, I was being a bit tongue in cheek about Mark’s post. I was simply bemoaning that the market has shifted such that it now makes sense to consumers (like Mark) when prices of well-made (but not reference-level) Chambertin are pegged to Rousseau prices. In the not too distant past, the top wines (with huge premiums for being the very best) didn’t influence the “very good wines” market so much. Or I guess producers have discovered that every well-made Chambertin, and not just the top ones, is now a Veblen good. Hey, I’m not bitter.
Regards,
Peter

I do think the wines of Rousseau are without peer. Trapet, Duroche and the occasional bottle of Drouhin Beze and Rossignol Trapet come fairly close, especially in more recent vintages. All of these were lower cost alternatives; but my point was that they were close enough that past vintages seemed underpriced. The current pricing is more in keeping with the relative quality.

its just a bit above my burgundy pricing sweet-Tache.

My price point was below $200. Bought 1998 - 2000.

You have a much better feel for when “pricing is about right”. Nothing about Burgundy pricing makes sense to me these days and hasn’t for a while.

RT

Brutal. I paid $255 for 2017 that’s shipping soon.

Yeah I was ready to load up on some usual suspects and then saw 30% - 60% increases in pricing and it backed me off. Lucky to get a decent retailer who realized the anomaly and gave me a big discount on Bouchard so I still picked up a few mixed cases of GC.

I recently bought a 16 mag from them. Hope its not the same one…

Recently as in last couple days? It prolly is.

If I send back heat damaged wine, I put a streak of white out on the punt. Just in case I get sent the same wine again.

Purchased late July

Great move!